User Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by MUSHROOMCLOUD:

4.03/5 rDev +2%look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

3" head with great retention and thick lace. Red wood, mahogany color with good clarity. The aroma is full of dark, sweet fruit...caramel apple, some spice, hint of sour and a faint yeastiness. Malty up front followed by toffee and dark fruit (fig) on the tongue. There is a sour flash followed by a somewhat spicy finish. Alcohol is well masked. Medium body and medium carbonation. Very nice drinkability. Very good beer.

More User Reviews:

Appearance  Careful, this one will overflow in a heartbeat. I caught it early so Im no worse the wear, but the head on this ale is magnificent. Its big, beautiful, darkly-shaded, slow to go down, and leaves a nice lacing on the glass.

Smell  The dark malt aroma is complimented by very ripe, dark fruits. If I had to pick the most prominent, I guess I would say plum and tobacco. However, this aroma is very complex. It is slightly spoiled by a rather strong harshness of alcohol.

Taste  Theres some table sugar that comes out in the taste. Otherwise, its pretty much what you get from the nose. Again, the stingy alcohol reminds one more of cheap whiskey than ale.

Mouthfeel  I like the carbonation in this one, and the body is very full.

Drinkability  This one lacks the smoothness of a fine, mature, BSDA. Most all the ingredients seem to be there, they just need an experienced hand in getting them all together.

After sampling Delirium Noel for the first time last night, I couldn't get the thought of a delicious Nocturnum out of my head. Although the Noel is an amazing beer in its own regard, the taste kept bringing me back to memories of the Nocturnum. This is my all-time favorite beer and I figured it was high time I reviewed it.

A- An inviting dark red when you look at it under light but otherwise opaque. The color is very fitting for the style and taste. Tan two finger head that dissipates after a few minutes to leave a nice lace on top.

S- The aroma definitely is dominantly apple, a somewhat sour but pleasant smell combined with what appears to be a sugary aroma. Very complex smell with a tingly alcoholic backdrop.

T&M- Absolutely fantastic. One sip reminds me why this is my favorite beer, and it only gets better from there. The Nocturnum feels incredibly silky on the tongue, a perfectly thick-but-not-syrupy consistency that definitely compliments the rollercoaster of flavors. The first thing to hit the buds is apple apple apple. Tart but not too much so, perfectly complimenting the following chocolate/caramel flavoring. This subsides very soon after leaving a dry but pleasant aftertaste. The alcohol reminds you that it's there in the form of a pleasant warm feeling in your stomach as well as a slight spice in the aftertaste. Amazing.

After sampling this beer, I have once again reassured myself that it is indeed my favorite. I couldn't bring myself to rate the Nocturnum as anything less than perfect and I have no reason to as I've never enjoyed anything more. Among the most complex of beers I've encountered but perfect in every aspect. I would be hard-pressed to find a beer that I would hold in as high regard as the Nocturnum. Truly world class among world class brews.

I've had delirium tremendous several times, and surprisingly have not had its dark counterpart until now. Here goes:
Pours a brown/mahogany color with a hugely dense off white foamy head. That's the conundrum with some Belgians; the head is beautiful to look at, but, its torture waiting for it to settle somewhat so that you can get in that first sip. After what seemed a lifetime, the head began to dissapates and retained as a thick creamy and sudsy foam and lots of lacing dripping down the side of the glass.
The nose is interesting. Initially there is a orange peel zest. This is followed by dark fruit, chocolate malt and an interesting herbal spiciness that somehow reminds me of potatoes seasoned with garlic. Towards the end I start picking up a distinct pear aroma.
In the mouthfeel, there is initially a piercing carbonation that lightens the body. There is a faint cocoa sweetness in the background that is balanced by a mild hops bitterness. There are dark fruits such as raisins and plums, as well as some pear towards the end. There is even some mild tartness. Furthermore there is a peppery spiciness that is moderate and adds to the complexity. I love it how these flavors really open up as the drink warms and the carbonation settles. By this point the mouthfeel becomes soft, smooth and even creamy.
I really liked this one and perhaps like it better than delirium tremendous. A great example of the style.

Pours a deep red with a brownish tint with a pretty large head,aroma was like bubblegum and spicey.Taste is chocolaty and spicey with some light fruity notes.Seemed a little thin but the drinkability for me on this one was great.Went very with a stuffed quail dish and a sauce reduction of the beer.

This dark Belgian ale pours a dark mocha color looking almost cola-like. The aroma is very sweet, and the head is not substantial and only makes a brief stay leaving little to no lacing behind. The carbonation seemed to higher than other variations in this style, but that's not a complaint, it was a nice detraction from the usual. The ale has a pronounced chocolate-cherry aftertaste and leaves the palate dry. The body is thinner than it looks, not watery, but thin. This sweet Belgian ale was great for a warm spring evening and was very easy to drink. With an ABV of 8.5% you so have to be a little conscious not to let your sippin' move too fast, otherwise it makes standing up a challenge. Great beer and a great compliment to the pound cake my wife served with it.

A: Dark brown brew, can't see through it at all. Has a healthy head at the initial pour of foamy off white that reduces to something a bit thinner but sticks around for the entire time. Lacing is more like a thin layer of foam that sticks to the side of the glass. Very nice.

S: Prunes, candy sugar, and malts - all quite faint.

T: Very complex and enjoyable mix of darker and medium toasted malts coming together in a mostly dry fashion. There is some sort of tart fruit taste underlying everything, perhaps cherry or dates, I can't quite put my finger on it. There is a hint of banana in the linger as well. I know this all sounds like a lot of different flavors moshed together but it really does come off nice.

M&D: Rather energetic tiny bubbles as carbonation really drive the mouthfeel for this. They just keep coming giving a little buoyancy to an other wise medium bodied brew. Rather good drinkability but I probably wouldn't drink more than a couple at one sitting, as I would probably opt for something that didn't sit as heavy. All in all a very good brew; recommended.

Presentation: 750ml champagne-style bomber with a coating that looks like ceramic. Cute pink elephant with some trippy colours surrounding it lets you know that your ass is going to be dead, soon. No bottled on info. Blue foil seal with cork and crown.

Appearance: Hazy deep ruby red with a tan creamy, patchy lace -- one gentle swirl and it creams up again.

Taste: Kinda smooth and very creamy on the palate, light pear texture. Medium-bodied. Medicinal, dominant apple (slightly tart), herbal, yeast ... then the malts settle in on the palate with a smooth chocolate / caramel flavour that turns dry soon after. No predominant hop bitterness. Vague spices. Warming spicy alcohol character hits the head after a few decent sips.

Notes: Welcome to Belgian beers! Lovely combination of malts and complex tartness. A surprise lurks around every taste bud with this beer. Amazing how such a beer can go from sweet to mildly tart to dry.

This beer poured a medium brownish color with a nice off white head that faded after a couple minutes into a slight foam around the edges of the glass. The smell was great with some sour apple scents along with spices and a touch of alchohol. I loved the dry taste of this beer mixed with just the right ammount of malt sweetness and spice to balance it out. The sour apple flavor reappeared in the middle of this beer and finished nice and dry so I could not wait for the next sip. A great beer and definantly worth the price.